This is a terrible idea.

I think it would be nice if there was a performing/visual arts academy. Why just accept that serious music students are going to leave for Linn-Mar or Prairie. It’s a good opportunity to re-prioritize the arts or at least have them as more than an afterthought. I think Washington High School would be the perfect place because music and math/engineering/medicine sync very well together. And also our orch/band/choir/speech/theatre/etc teachers are 🤩👑

It’s embarrassing that so many people dismiss this out of hand. These are opportunities for us that we didn’t have before. If you want to stay at your neighborhood school, stay. The pathways are broad, for that reason. I went to g&t camp in NYC for four summers at Hunter College Elementary, an AMAZING, TOP NOTCH, PUBLIC school and I’ve seen what’s possible with school specialization (magnets). It won’t work here, but why? Because parents are more concerned about sports and friend groups and transportation than education. 🤷🏼‍♀️ If your child doesn’t know what they’re interested in….HELP THEM FIGURE IT OUT. That’s kind of a parent sort of job. Or keep them at their home school. Studying science or math if they end up in business won’t hurt them. But let those who want a different experience and know what they need to achieve their goals have that opportunity instead of just offering barriers and no positive input. Better, spend some time in our buildings and see what’s going on. Most of the complaints have no connection to real day to day school life. I’m pretty sure all the schools could use volunteers!

And you wonder why you guys are losing teachers in this district…. Kids don’t even know what they want to do out of college. What makes you think kids know what they want in high school. Also maybe let parents have input on this decision as well.

This looks great! Looking forward to learning more as the plan rolls out.

This isn’t looking good.

It doesn’t seem that the school district actually wants feedback or they would have rolled this out to parents before working on it for 18 months. Since they decided to share, there has been lackluster and vague communication about the curriculum which is forcing teenagers and their parents to choose a career path. Teenagers have no real idea of what the rest of their life will be. This is the reason for general courses in both high school and college, with the choice of specialized classes to preview what a certain path or paths will entail. Lastly, what transportation options will be available for students who don’t have their own vehicle?

How many kids are going to go where their friends go regardless of what is offered? How many are going to pick something they really aren’t interested in just to go where they want?

Yeah, I've taught in a college/university setting since 2008 and I can tell you a good 50-60% of students at THAT level don't even know for sure what they want to study yet. Another thing is that I teach cognitive/neuroscience. And here's the thing: The prefrontal cortex (where higher decision making and personality lives) doesn't finish maturing until around age 25. We protect minors from all kinds of consequential dangers because we recognize their relative physiologically-based impairment in decision making. Why are you proposing to make them choose a life path as minors? This proposal is antithetical to what science supports. What are the benefits?

Why recreate college in high school? Is there any research to suggest that 14 year olds will benefit more from a narrow focus on knowledge from arcane academic categories v a well rounded education?

Bus transportation is gonna be a nightmare. Kids on NE side gonna be bussed down to Jeff? What a mess.

So students are required to pick one pathway, even though they may not know what future career they want. What if a students have interests in multiple pathways? Are they just going to hop from school to school each year to find out what they might be interested in. If the school district actually wanted parent input they would have involved us from the beginning. This is being thrown upon us at the last minute with very vague answers. This is a terrible idea in so many ways. The school district wants freshman to pick a career pathway when their middle school hasn't even prepared them for high school!

How many students are limited to each “pathway “? Once that limit is reached, then what? You are adding a class to an already full day. Does that mean class times will be adjusted to the school day? Not more hours, but essentially shorter individual class times. It seems to me that this will all but destroy school spirit, loyalty, and building a community within each school.

14-year-olds are not ready to choose a career yet. What is the purpose of all these different “schools”? Aren’t the graduation requirements set by the state the same, regardless? So we are only talking about a difference of a few electives here? Every student needs History, Lit, Math, Science, health, PE, plus their arts electives.

The new bond being presenting next fall talks about having "true feeder" middle schools as a benefit to our district. Seems like it won't mesh well with the Pathways program. Why lower the number of middle schools to feed 1 middle school to 1 high school then tell high schoolers they may have to change high schools for their pathway. I just don't like this. And I hope parents are voicing their concerns. Stuff isn't adding up.

How will you balance enrollment? What if too many students want to go to one high school more than another?

So, if a student picks a pathway and decides, let's say half a year in, it's not what they want. They then choose a different pathway but it's at a different school, they'll switch schools midway through the year or are they stuck for the year in that pathway? How much extra time will the additional transportation take? Their days are already long (for some) because of transportation time. As it stands now, students with autism are served better at one school versus another. How will these students be able to access the pathways programs while keeping their supports in place effectively? Are you limiting student participation in each pathway? Are you preparing for an influx of students in one school or another due to the pathways offered in that school being a high probability of choice by many?

This is horrible.

Terrible idea

How are Health Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Pre-Med different at the high school level?

How does Band and Choir, Drama, Art, Sports teams, etc work in this experiment (because you are experimenting with kids lives.) What if after a year, they decide they are on the wrong career path and want to change? Do they have to start over?

I don’t understand the negativity, this seems like such a great opportunity! I’m excited for my middle schooler to learn more about this!

Is Metro not going to be the alternative high school option anymore?

What has happened in other school districts that have adopted a Pathways-esque model and later reverted? When "Pathways" has failed in other contexts what were the reasons for the failure, and how have you preemptively sidestepped those potential pitfalls in your planning?

What a joke CRCSD IS. I WAS EMPLOYED there from 2017 to 2019 and it was horrible then. I had a nursing supervisor that bullied and harassed me. My point the culture is bad and I think Dr Grover is not effective as a highly paid superintendent with. This career pathway is a knee jerk response to get her enrollment numbers up.

Congratulations!!

I appreciate all of the dedication, and the efforts you all put into our kids each and everyday!!! I’ve personally witnessed your efforts, so thank you.

Congratulations everyone!

Congratulations!

Congratulations, but if you are trying to connect better with your entire audience please refrain from using initials, abbreviations and education buzz words. IASB, Iowa Scool Board? Thank-you!

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Congratulations

what school ?

Congratulations!!!🥳❤️

Rockstar!

It was a great day! I’m so grateful to be part of this group of incredible peers. I was also happy to be part of the student/parent/community member SIAC committee last year. This committee focused on pathways and was open for all to apply. We spent the year doing great work AND seeking more members. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Students got a voice but parents didn’t? I’m not against this but also am frustrated parents don’t get a voice, or choice. And now many HS teachers want to leave the district? This isn’t fair to our amazing teachers we have here either :( this decision should have been better planned. Not forced.

What a farce Dr Grover.